On August 10, Mattapoisett’s Highway Surveyor Garrett Bauer met with the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission to discuss an emergency repair. Recent heavy rains and the need for maintenance to a drainage outfall system that discharges into the harbor at the end of Ship Street had been reported as failing by residents in the area. “The water was backing up through the manhole,” Bauer stated.
A historic drainage outfall pipe is located at the end of Ship Street, which terminates into a small public beach wedged between private properties. That pipe had become clogged, and the surrounding beach seriously eroded, becoming a safety hazard, Chairman Mike King detailed.
While emergency repairs to wetlands and jurisdictional areas don’t generally require beforehand approvals, Bauer contacted the commission to alert its members of the need and obtain permission for the repairs. The request was unanimously affirmed.
Earlier in the meeting, it was noted that Notice of Intent filings by Randall Lane Solar, LLC, and Alexander Bauer, 7 Nashawena Road, were again continued until August 23.
New business heard included a Request for Determination of Applicability filed by Jessica Nicolosi for property located a 5 Perkins Lane and a Notice of Intent from the same applicant for the construction of an oversized accessory building planned within a buffer zone of a bordering vegetated wetland.
Represented by Carmelo Nicolosi of Charon Associates, the RDA requesting ratification of the wetlands delineation was confirmed via a negative determination of applicability. Regarding the NOI for the structural elements, approval in the form of an order of conditions was provided. Nicolosi said that the project as presented would also require review and special permitting by the Zoning Board of Appeals.
An Abbreviated Notice of Resource Area Delineation [ANRAD] was affirmed for property located at 17 Ned’s Point Road and represented by Robert Field of Field Associates.
Conditional approval for an NOI filed by Bart O’Brien for property located at 34 Prince Snow Circle was granted provided that the Massachusetts Wildlife Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program confirms that there would not be a wetlands taking.
The commission also reviewed pictures submitted by concerned residents for what was considered substandard repairs to roadways by Eversource along Pine Branch Way after utility work had taken place in the area. As a result, King said he has contacted the Massachusetts Public Utilities Commission and filed a complaint with the Department of Environmental Protection. The commission also issued an Enforcement Order to be sent to the utility.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission is scheduled for Monday, August 23, at 6:30 pm.
Mattapoisett Conservation Commission
By Marilou Newell